I recently had my DNA analyzed by 23andme, and now a friend wants to write about my results as part of a story in a popular national magazine. Normally I'd be fine with this, but I have some concerns about future insurance effects, especially considering one of the results. What, if any, is the real danger in having my name being used with my real results?
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posted by anonymous
on Feb 21, 2013 -
23 answers
How can you tell the physical and chemical structure of a nucleic acid based on a sample's proportions of nucleotides?
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posted by johnofjack
on Feb 9, 2013 -
20 answers
I want to better understand my body. So, I want data - baseline data. Going to sign up for
23andMe, and I'd also like to get some imaging done. In particular, I'd like an MRI of my body (head and torso) and any other medical diagnostics I can buy.
I'm interested in your suggestions for
cheap medical imaging, and also for your suggestions on other ways to collect hard data about my body and its condition.
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posted by fake
on Jan 19, 2013 -
36 answers
My father's grandfather was adopted with very little paperwork or evidence trail as to his biological origins. Earlier this year, my father's uncle got his DNA tested. Unfortunately, the closest Y-DNA relative we've isolated from the tests is 13 generations back. But, I have a related question: All of the matches, through multiple services (having manually entered the data into other services) have a wide variety of non-repeating last names. Given that Y-DNA matches father-to-son, wouldn't there be at least
some names repeating?
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posted by thanotopsis
on Aug 30, 2012 -
25 answers
There was an article/NPR story from a couple years ago that described findings that we incorporate ALL things we take in into our bodies.
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posted by ilikecookies
on Jul 17, 2012 -
6 answers
One of my sperm contains 37.5MB of DNA information in it. Does every single one of my sperm have the very same identical 37.5MB of information?
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posted by shipbreaker
on Jul 6, 2012 -
18 answers
Was reading about microchips that are designed to allow a few mistakes (known as '
Sloppy Chips'), and pondering equivalent kinds of 'coding' errors and entropy in biological systems. Can a fair comparison be made between the two?
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posted by 0bvious
on Jun 5, 2012 -
4 answers
Could DNA testing theoretically be employed to determine how many distinct chickens found their way into one Chicken McNugget?
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posted by duffell
on Mar 1, 2012 -
15 answers
Looking for an awesome primer on genetics! It should start somewhere around the highschool level, and continue through to some college-level material. Bonus points if it touches on some recent developments and research. Oh! And readability is key.
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posted by Afroblanco
on Jan 13, 2012 -
5 answers
Okay - I admit I didn't pay as much attention in biology class as I should have. Can someone tell me whether or not animal products such as milk and honey contain significant amounts of DNA? I have a friend who thinks people who talk about eating food that's "free of chemicals" are hysterical, because of course all food is made up of chemicals. But she takes it a step farther and asks if they've tried DNA-free food as well, which brings me to my point. I suggested things like milk and honey, which are secreted by animals, might by considered DNA-free. Her reaction was shock and dismay that I was ignorant of the (to her) common knowledge that those things do, in fact, contain DNA. I mean, I'll buy that maybe they contain some stray particles of DNA - like (I believe) our saliva does, but are they, or are they not, made of DNA?
posted by Death by Ugabooga
on Nov 8, 2011 -
30 answers
Some heavy shit went down this week and I've become the unwilling party to a new family secret. I want to tell one or two trusted family members because it affects them to a lesser degree. Can people with calmer heads and more perspective help me sort through this and figure out the best line to take?
(Caution: longwinded)
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posted by anonymous
on May 25, 2011 -
58 answers
DNA question plus *Gross-out alert* If you don't like real live scabs from injuries, read no further. It won't get any better. I'm guessing that I've thinned the clicking herd...
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posted by Rafaelloello
on May 7, 2011 -
6 answers
How common is
human chimerism of the sort described in
this Boing Boing post? What implications does the existence of chimerism have for DNA testing, especially with respect to the criminal justice system? Does it pose a practical limit on the usefulness of DNA evidence, or just a theoretical one? Has chimerism come up in any cases, or been considered as a problem in legal scholarship?
posted by gerryblog
on Mar 23, 2011 -
15 answers
Please point me to scientific resources/articles either in support of or refuting the "biblical" claim that all humans are descendants of a single pair of male and female (i.e. Adam and Eve)
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posted by oracle bone
on Mar 10, 2011 -
16 answers
Amateur coder looking to make a "toy" Neural Net and also genetic/phenotypic DNA evolution/breeding system for a "virtual pet" game. Any tools that can make this approachable for me, preferably in Python?
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posted by DetonatedManiac
on Aug 20, 2010 -
7 answers
Research for a sci-fi story: Is it theoretically possible to genetically modify a feotus in vitro to such an extent that the feotus effectively becomes a clone of the father?
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posted by leibniz
on Apr 5, 2010 -
28 answers
I'm designing a series of DNA infographics and would like to know what sorts of information would be the most ... well, informative.
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posted by clearly
on Apr 22, 2009 -
9 answers
"The DNA of humans and chimps is 98.4% identical." I've read that several places. I've also read "The DNA of all living things is 90% identical" and "The DNA of humans and lettuce is 16% identical." How could I find out which of those last two statements is correct? Or is the problem that I don't understand which part of the DNA is being referred to? (Frankly, I'm not that clear on DNA in the first place - I'd just like the right number.)
posted by kestralwing
on Dec 31, 2008 -
14 answers
How can I determine, with access to limited biological data, if my father is not who I thought he was?
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posted by anonymous
on Jul 5, 2008 -
10 answers
Has there been any critical recognition of the similarity of the sculptures of Jachin and Boaz from Matthew Barney's
Cremaster 3 to important helical structures (the DNA helix and the alpha helix) from molecular biology?
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posted by mr_roboto
on Apr 19, 2008 -
6 answers
Wondering if anyone here has had a
Genealogical DNA test for purposes of learning more about your
distant (ie. not recent/paternity) ancestors. I have questions about the differences (price, service, thoroughness) of the various companies offering this service, the type of data that different tests can produce, and ways this data can be (constructively) interpreted.
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posted by cadastral
on Apr 16, 2008 -
18 answers
I've finally decided to learn about how DNA (by reading
Molecular Biology Made Fun And Simple), and I have a question about chromatin. The pictures you see of chromosomes are all taken when chromosomes have packed themselves into a visible structure to allow them to move around during Metaphase. If I have stranded, intact chromosomes in a test tube, can I force them to pack themselves into the Metaphase configuration? If so, how?
posted by hammurderer
on Feb 6, 2008 -
6 answers
Would it be worthwhile to preserve a sample of my parents' DNA, with their permission, in case I ever need it for genetic testing of myself or my family?
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posted by anonymous
on Jan 26, 2008 -
9 answers
Is there such a thing as an 'invisible' virus - have biologists stumbled across any 'diseases' that have no noticeable symptoms?
posted by unmake
on Dec 14, 2007 -
20 answers
Are there any studies, past or present, devoted to the idea of deriving precise time of either conception or birth from DNA analysis? For conception, I can imagine a science fiction author describing a rhythmic pattern or pulse emitted by something in the DNA whose beats are somehow recorded somewhere, like the veritable second hand of a clock. For birth time I'm a little fuzzier on the possibilities, but one idea that occurred to me was the studying the effects of direct light (sun or artificial) on a baby's chromosomes when exposed for the first time (not counting any rays that might penetrate the womb through the mother). There is also the
telomere clock to consider, about which I know very little.
posted by christopherious
on Dec 12, 2007 -
16 answers
I need solid scientific evidence that thought can change matter - how consciousness effects DNA structure, patterns and ultimately reality. Charts, studies, videos, all is welcome as a way of viewing and understanding how the mind's energy works in relation to physical matter. Thank you so much.
posted by watercarrier
on Nov 7, 2007 -
51 answers
After 68 years, my mom still doesn't know who her real dad was. Is it possible to find out?
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posted by konolia
on Jul 25, 2007 -
12 answers
I heard that you can send a sample of your dog's DNA out to be tested to determine breed. I have a pound mutt who I would love to know the mix before she passes. Anyone know if such a service exists?
posted by archimago
on Jun 16, 2007 -
12 answers
I'm a twenty-six-year-old fraternal twin, writing on behalf of both of us. Our mother has just revealed to us that the man we know as Dad is not our biological father. And the only person who knew the identity of our biological father...is dead.
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posted by anonymous
on Nov 19, 2006 -
36 answers
Calling all biologists - I've amplified a 700 bp region of cDNA for the gene PGI and now am trying to amplify this region using genomic DNA. Way more detail inside...
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posted by a22lamia
on Apr 5, 2006 -
25 answers
My GoogleFu has failed me. Does anyone know of a place I could send a swab of DNA from my cheek and get a photo of it back (after they do the Chomatography thing). Because I love
these but I'm too cheap and figure given the source image I could do the rest myself.
posted by zeoslap
on Feb 14, 2006 -
23 answers
Name that 3D wire-frame evolving-creature-in-a-hostile-environment Amiga game from 15ish years ago.
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posted by cortex
on Aug 16, 2005 -
10 answers
